Firebarn David Ross

[ChuckD]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

[PenFoe]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

Seems like a good time to sell high.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

I was at my first game of the year at Wrigley last night and had to do a double, and then a triple-take at the shiny new LF jumbotron when it displayed that his season OPS as over .900.  I told my brother I thought that that had to be wrong.

[SKO]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

I was at my first game of the year at Wrigley last night and had to do a double, and then a triple-take at the shiny new LF jumbotron when it displayed that his season OPS as over .900.  I told my brother I thought that that had to be wrong.

At the very least he seems healthy and capable of posting something similar to his 2010-2012 numbers, which would be outstanding.  Add in his defense and his Twitter account and he's been a fantastic pickup.

[R-V]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

I was at my first game of the year at Wrigley last night and had to do a double, and then a triple-take at the shiny new LF jumbotron when it displayed that his season OPS as over .900.  I told my brother I thought that that had to be wrong.

At the very least he seems healthy and capable of posting something similar to his 2010-2012 numbers, which would be outstanding.  Add in his defense and his Twitter account and he's been a fantastic pickup.

Also, he's making Eli look really bad, kind of like Clutch Coghlan is doing to you.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

I was at my first game of the year at Wrigley last night and had to do a double, and then a triple-take at the shiny new LF jumbotron when it displayed that his season OPS as over .900.  I told my brother I thought that that had to be wrong.

At the very least he seems healthy and capable of posting something similar to his 2010-2012 numbers, which would be outstanding.  Add in his defense and his Twitter account and he's been a fantastic pickup.

Also, he's making Eli look really bad, kind of like Clutch Coghlan is doing to you.

Oh god yes.  Hilarious.

[ChuckD]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

I was at my first game of the year at Wrigley last night and had to do a double, and then a triple-take at the shiny new LF jumbotron when it displayed that his season OPS as over .900.  I told my brother I thought that that had to be wrong.

Obviously, he won't keep this up all season, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

If the Cubs' committee of catchers finishes with an OPS north of .800, that'll be huge.

Fun fact, the Cubs have gotten a higher combined OPS out of their catchers than they have from any other position aside from 1B. About 1/5 of the way through the year, they're at .290/.395/.514/.909.

That OPS is better than the combined output of any platoon of DHs in the AL. Only the A's have had better offensive numbers from their catchers (.313/.368/.586/.954).

[Eli]

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

Someone mentioned on Twitter today that Montero has basically play about 75% as much as he did last season so he may not be as run down as the past few years. As an older catcher, that may be making a huge difference in his performance. Definitely a pleasant surprise.

[PenFoe]

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

Someone mentioned on Twitter today that Montero has basically play about 75% as much as he did last season so he may not be as run down as the past few years. As an older catcher, that may be making a huge difference in his performance. Definitely a pleasant surprise.

FYE!

[R-V]

Well SKO it's not quite a firebarn but good ol' Dave came up gimpy during his at-bat today. La Stella was supposed to begin his rehab assignment in AA today so it's possible they play short-handed until he's ready - I would guess for the Padres series?

[SKO]

Well SKO it's not quite a firebarn but good ol' Dave came up gimpy during his at-bat today. La Stella was supposed to begin his rehab assignment in AA today so it's possible they play short-handed until he's ready - I would guess for the Padres series?

I'd DL Ross,  recall Lake, then activate La Stella after his rehab assignment and DFA Herrera since wow it turns out Herrera is still on the roster.

Like to call up Javy but it makes more sense to keep letting him work on things at Iowa because he's making actual progress it seems.

[ChuckD]

Since this is the Miguel Montero thread now...

Big bump for his pitch framing.

Tying run on third, the third pitch of the last AB was borderline. Montero probably got Rondon the call. Herrera struck out two pitches later.

http://gfycat.com/ApprehensiveFrighteningHerald

[Slaky]

Since this is the Miguel Montero thread now...

Big bump for his pitch framing.

Tying run on third, the third pitch of the last AB was borderline. Montero probably got Rondon the call. Herrera struck out two pitches later.

http://gfycat.com/ApprehensiveFrighteningHerald

So awesome.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Since this is the Miguel Montero thread now...

Big bump for his pitch framing.

Tying run on third, the third pitch of the last AB was borderline. Montero probably got Rondon the call. Herrera struck out two pitches later.

http://gfycat.com/ApprehensiveFrighteningHerald

Clutch.

[Quality Start Machine]

All Castillo has done in his last 3 pinch-hit at-bats is 1) clean RBI single which set the stage for Fowler's heroics Sunday, 2) a frozen rope which looked like it'd have ended the game Monday with a walk-off win had Marlon Byrd not stumbled ass backwards into it, and 3) his 2-run homer last night.

If the Cubs eventually get a king's ransom for Beef, then OK fine.  But right now I'm a little annoyed about having to watch this sadsack hump of a human being Ross at the plate knowing how much better of a player is "behind" him.

The Cubs only have one catcher who can hit and it's the guy they're trying desperately to trade.

Good to know we've written off Miguel Montero after 15 ABs.

*Clears throat*

Be sure to check back with us after another 500 at bats or so.

I'm not going to lie to you, Eli.

I'm not going to do that.

I actually figured I was setting myself up for end-of-season embarrassment when Montero has a decent year.

BBBBUMP.

He's got at least one walk in 9 straight games, now. That's the longest streak in the majors.

Since April 26, he's slashed .410/.531/.615/1.146.

Some strawman might say "But, ChuckD! His BABIP is .500 over that stretch. He's just been really lucky."

And to that strawman, I'd say "Strawman, 10 of the 28 balls he's put in play over that timespan have been line drives. Luck's got very little to do with it. Dude's just flat out raking."

I was at my first game of the year at Wrigley last night and had to do a double, and then a triple-take at the shiny new LF jumbotron when it displayed that his season OPS as over .900.  I told my brother I thought that that had to be wrong.

At the very least he seems healthy and capable of posting something similar to his 2010-2012 numbers, which would be outstanding.  Add in his defense and his Twitter account and he's been a fantastic pickup.

Also, he's making Eli look really bad, kind of like Clutch Coghlan is doing to you.

Oh god yes.  Hilarious.

With his pals Spinner and Paddlefoot?

This needs to be a PShop.